diff --git a/src/managers/builtin/inlineScript/envManager.ts b/src/managers/builtin/inlineScript/envManager.ts
index 34a847c3..04505bba 100644
--- a/src/managers/builtin/inlineScript/envManager.ts
+++ b/src/managers/builtin/inlineScript/envManager.ts
@@ -2363,16 +2363,19 @@ export class InlineScriptEnvManager implements EnvironmentManager, Disposable {
                 this.baseManager,
             );
             const executable = resolved?.execInfo?.run.executable;
-            if (resolved && executable && pickCompatibleInterpreter([resolved], metadata.requiresPython)) {
+            if (
+                resolved &&
+                executable &&
+                pickCompatibleInterpreter([resolved], undefined) &&
+                (!requiresPython || this.matchesInstallConstraint(requiresPython, resolved.version))
+            ) {
                 try {
                     const canonicalPath = await fs.realpath(executable);
-                    if (!requiresPython || this.matchesInstallConstraint(requiresPython, resolved.version)) {
-                        this.directlyResolvedBaseInterpreters.set(canonicalPath, resolved);
-                        selected = {
-                            environment: resolved,
-                            canonicalPath,
-                        };
-                    }
+                    this.directlyResolvedBaseInterpreters.set(canonicalPath, resolved);
+                    selected = {
+                        environment: resolved,
+                        canonicalPath,
+                    };
                 } catch (error) {
                     this.log.warn(
                         `Unable to resolve the Python installed for an inline script at ${executable}: ${getErrorMessage(error)}`,
@@ -2403,12 +2406,17 @@ export class InlineScriptEnvManager implements EnvironmentManager, Disposable {
             return { version: prereleaseLowerBound };
         }
         const lowerBoundRelease = lowerBound ? parseReleaseSegments(lowerBound) : undefined;
+        let needsCompleteCatalog = false;
         if (lowerBound && lowerBoundRelease?.[0] === 3) {
             if (/^>=\s*[^,]+$/.test(requiresPython) && this.matchesInstallConstraint(requiresPython, lowerBound)) {
                 return { version: lowerBound };
             }
+            // PEP 440 `==3.13` is exact, while uv treats `3.13` as a broad minor selector.
             if (/^==\s*[^,*]+$/.test(requiresPython) && this.matchesInstallConstraint(requiresPython, lowerBound)) {
-                return { version: lowerBound };
+                if (lowerBoundRelease.length >= 3) {
+                    return { version: lowerBound };
+                }
+                needsCompleteCatalog = true;
             }
         }
 
@@ -2424,7 +2432,9 @@ export class InlineScriptEnvManager implements EnvironmentManager, Disposable {
                         uvLookupResult === 'declined' ? 'compatible-python-declined' : 'install-failure',
                 };
             }
-            available = await uvPythonInstaller.getAvailablePythonVersions();
+            available = needsCompleteCatalog
+                ? await uvPythonInstaller.getAvailablePythonVersions({ allVersions: true })
+                : await uvPythonInstaller.getAvailablePythonVersions();
         } catch (error) {
             this.log.warn(`Unable to query Python versions available from uv: ${getErrorMessage(error)}`);
             return { errorCategory: 'install-failure' };
diff --git a/src/managers/builtin/uvPythonInstaller.ts b/src/managers/builtin/uvPythonInstaller.ts
index 7fabe4b5..e57991dd 100644
--- a/src/managers/builtin/uvPythonInstaller.ts
+++ b/src/managers/builtin/uvPythonInstaller.ts
@@ -76,6 +76,10 @@ export interface UvPythonVersion {
     arch: string;
 }
 
+export interface GetAvailablePythonVersionsOptions {
+    readonly allVersions?: boolean;
+}
+
 /**
  * Checks if a command is available on the system.
  */
@@ -276,12 +280,20 @@ export async function getUvPythonPath(version?: string): Promise<string | undefi
 
 /**
  * Gets available Python versions from uv.
+ * @param options Set `allVersions` only when older patch releases are needed.
  * @returns Promise that resolves to an array of Python versions
  */
-export async function getAvailablePythonVersions(): Promise<UvPythonVersion[]> {
+export async function getAvailablePythonVersions(
+    options?: GetAvailablePythonVersionsOptions,
+): Promise<UvPythonVersion[]> {
     return new Promise((resolve) => {
         const chunks: string[] = [];
-        const proc = spawnProcess('uv', ['python', 'list', '--output-format', 'json']);
+        const args = ['python', 'list'];
+        if (options?.allVersions) {
+            args.push('--all-versions');
+        }
+        args.push('--output-format', 'json');
+        const proc = spawnProcess('uv', args);
         proc.stdout?.on('data', (data) => chunks.push(data.toString()));
         proc.on('error', () => resolve([]));
         proc.on('exit', (code) => {
diff --git a/src/test/managers/builtin/inlineScript/envManager.unit.test.ts b/src/test/managers/builtin/inlineScript/envManager.unit.test.ts
index c95bfc78..0d19a108 100644
--- a/src/test/managers/builtin/inlineScript/envManager.unit.test.ts
+++ b/src/test/managers/builtin/inlineScript/envManager.unit.test.ts
@@ -744,6 +744,25 @@ suite('InlineScriptEnvManager', () => {
             assert.strictEqual(createWithProgressStub.callCount, 1);
         });
 
+        test('uses strict PEP 440 matching for a directly resolved final release', async () => {
+            const uvExecutable = path.join(tempRoot, 'uv-python', isWindows() ? 'python.exe' : 'python');
+            await fs.outputFile(uvExecutable, '');
+            const uvBase = makeEnvironment('ms-python.python:system', '3.15.0', uvExecutable);
+            readMetadataStub.resolves({ ...VALID_METADATA, requiresPython: '!=3.15.0rc2' });
+            apiGetEnvironmentsStub.resolves([]);
+            getAvailablePythonVersionsStub.resolves([makeUvPythonVersion('3.15.0')]);
+            promptInstallPythonViaUvStub.resolves({ kind: 'installed', pythonPath: uvExecutable });
+            resolveSystemPythonStub.resolves(uvBase);
+
+            assert.ok(await manager.create(scriptUri()));
+
+            sinon.assert.calledOnceWithExactly(promptInstallPythonViaUvStub, 'inlineScript', manager.log, {
+                requiresPython: '!=3.15.0rc2',
+                version: '3.15.0',
+            });
+            assert.strictEqual(createWithProgressStub.firstCall.args[4], uvBase);
+        });
+
         test('selects an available uv release that satisfies exclusion clauses', async () => {
             const uvExecutable = path.join(tempRoot, 'uv-python', isWindows() ? 'python.exe' : 'python');
             await fs.outputFile(uvExecutable, '');
@@ -834,6 +853,46 @@ suite('InlineScriptEnvManager', () => {
                 requiresPython: '>=3.11,<3.12',
                 version: '3.11.14',
             });
+            sinon.assert.calledOnceWithExactly(getAvailablePythonVersionsStub);
+        });
+
+        test('resolves a short exact requirement to an advertised concrete release', async () => {
+            const uvExecutable = path.join(tempRoot, 'uv-python', isWindows() ? 'python.exe' : 'python');
+            await fs.outputFile(uvExecutable, '');
+            const uvBase = makeEnvironment('ms-python.python:system', '3.13.0', uvExecutable);
+            readMetadataStub.resolves({ ...VALID_METADATA, requiresPython: '==3.13' });
+            apiGetEnvironmentsStub.onFirstCall().resolves([baseEnvironment]);
+            apiGetEnvironmentsStub.onSecondCall().resolves([baseEnvironment]);
+            apiGetEnvironmentsStub.onThirdCall().resolves([uvBase]);
+            const defaultCatalog = [makeUvPythonVersion('3.13.2')];
+            const completeCatalog = [...defaultCatalog, makeUvPythonVersion('3.13.0')];
+            getAvailablePythonVersionsStub.callsFake(async (options?: { allVersions?: boolean }) =>
+                options?.allVersions ? completeCatalog : defaultCatalog,
+            );
+            promptInstallPythonViaUvStub.resolves({ kind: 'installed', pythonPath: uvExecutable });
+
+            assert.ok(await manager.create(scriptUri()));
+
+            sinon.assert.calledOnceWithExactly(ensureUvForVersionLookupStub, '==3.13', manager.log);
+            sinon.assert.calledOnceWithExactly(getAvailablePythonVersionsStub, { allVersions: true });
+            sinon.assert.calledOnceWithExactly(promptInstallPythonViaUvStub, 'inlineScript', manager.log, {
+                requiresPython: '==3.13',
+                version: '3.13.0',
+            });
+        });
+
+        test('does not install a short exact requirement without an exact catalog candidate', async () => {
+            readMetadataStub.resolves({ ...VALID_METADATA, requiresPython: '==3.13' });
+            apiGetEnvironmentsStub.resolves([baseEnvironment]);
+            getAvailablePythonVersionsStub.resolves([makeUvPythonVersion('3.13.2')]);
+
+            assert.strictEqual(await manager.create(scriptUri()), undefined);
+
+            sinon.assert.calledOnceWithExactly(ensureUvForVersionLookupStub, '==3.13', manager.log);
+            sinon.assert.calledOnceWithExactly(getAvailablePythonVersionsStub, { allVersions: true });
+            assert.strictEqual(promptInstallPythonViaUvStub.callCount, 0);
+            assert.strictEqual(apiRefreshEnvironmentsStub.callCount, 0);
+            assert.strictEqual(createWithProgressStub.callCount, 0);
         });
 
         test('uses an exact requirement without needing an existing uv catalog', async () => {
diff --git a/src/test/managers/builtin/uvPythonInstaller.unit.test.ts b/src/test/managers/builtin/uvPythonInstaller.unit.test.ts
index b2d55658..1c1f2dd5 100644
--- a/src/test/managers/builtin/uvPythonInstaller.unit.test.ts
+++ b/src/test/managers/builtin/uvPythonInstaller.unit.test.ts
@@ -835,6 +835,32 @@ suite('uvPythonInstaller - getAvailablePythonVersions', () => {
         assert.strictEqual(result.length, 2, 'Should return all versions');
         assert.strictEqual(result[0].version, '3.13.1');
         assert.strictEqual(result[1].version, '3.12.8');
+        sinon.assert.calledOnceWithExactly(spawnStub, 'uv', ['python', 'list', '--output-format', 'json']);
+    });
+
+    test('should request older patch releases only when all versions are requested', async () => {
+        const versions: UvPythonVersion[] = [
+            makeUvPythonVersion({ version: '3.13.2', path: null }),
+            makeUvPythonVersion({ version: '3.13.0', path: null }),
+        ];
+        const args = ['python', 'list', '--all-versions', '--output-format', 'json'];
+        const mockProcess = new MockChildProcess('uv', args);
+        spawnStub.returns(mockProcess);
+
+        const resultPromise = getAvailablePythonVersions({ allVersions: true });
+
+        setTimeout(() => {
+            mockProcess.stdout?.emit('data', JSON.stringify(versions));
+            mockProcess.emit('exit', 0, null);
+        }, 10);
+
+        const result = await resultPromise;
+
+        assert.deepStrictEqual(
+            result.map((version) => version.version),
+            ['3.13.2', '3.13.0'],
+        );
+        sinon.assert.calledOnceWithExactly(spawnStub, 'uv', args);
     });
 
     test('should return empty array on process error', async () => {